The Joy and the Laughter
by Fae 206
Summary: AU. Four years after Professor Dick killed the girls, Bubbles returns to a grieving Utonium without her sisters. Even though she's desperate to find them, more evidence keeps appearing about their demise but are they really dead? How will Utonium cope with a nine-year-old. Will Bubbles be able to keep her sisters' spirits alive with her fighting? Follows the original show
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Very short Chapter One, hope you enjoy. Other chapters will be at least three times this length **

**The Joy and the Laughter**

**Chapter One**

Professor Utonium had faced the questions for four years since the death of Professor Dick. When was he going to create new girls? When was he able to provide a way for 'saving the day'? Why wasn't he creating new super heroines?

How could he tell them that he hadn't wanted to create girls with powers in the first place? He had just wanted daughters to raise and instead of going to an orphanage, he wanted to create them himself. It was something crazy but it had given him his time with his daughters. That was right. They weren't just super powered little girls, they were each his daughter and they were gone and deceased.

Utonium sighed as he sat on the bed in his room. He got up and walked over to the room where he still had the girl's bed and toys and clothes. He knew he should have given them up, he should have been able to move on from his grief. Afterall, he had been the one to hold them as they had died but he couldn't.

He took a slow breath before hearing a noise in the lab. The crime had definitely increased without the girls here to protect everyone but he hadn't had his house raided for quite some time. Now it was the chance to test some of the self-defense skills and techniques he had learned.

As he entered the lab and turned on the light, he saw a flash and looked around. "Is someone there?" he asked in his strong and steady voice. "I'm warning you…"

"I'm here," a girl sobbed and Professor Utonium took a step back. He knew that voice.

"Girls?" he asked and heard a sobbing continue, he looked around again and followed the crying.

"I couldn't find them, Professor," the girl sobbed and Utonium found her. His eyes widened as he saw a young blond sobbing painfully. He crouched down in front of her. Her blond hair was the same shade and she was the right age, nine-years-old. The professor waited and saw Bubbles raise her head. How was she here and all alone too?

"Bubbles?" he asked to be greeted by a sad smile. He pulled his daughter into his arms and held her close. "The others? You couldn't find them?"

"Are they here?" Bubbles asked hopefully as she gazed at her father. "Do you know -"

"No. I don't," the professor sad sadly. "I didn't even know that you were alive. We'll have to se if we can find Blossom and Buttercup but for now, how are you? How did you get back here?"

"I don't know," Bubbles replied, "I just felt a connection."

Utonium sighed and held the little girl close. "Let's go upstairs and get you a bath," he said and Bubbles nodded as he hoisted her up in his arms. He couldn't believe that she was alive and that he got to carry her. He had seen her zip across the lab so her powers weren't all gone. He just wanted to take care of her. Still if she was here there was a greater chance for all three of them, that was what he had to believe.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Sometimes I get inspired to write certain fics even if it's not that popular so this was the case with this one. I hope those who read it enjoy it.**

**Chapter Two**

The girls had been important to Utonium since he had wanted to create them and had found the science to do just that. He didn't consider them as experiments or commodities. They were his children, his three daughters. He really had thought that he had lost all three of them but there was a chance that he could get them back. He would never let anyone hurt them again.

He sat on the floor next to the bathroom with his arms around his knees. He couldn't help doing so. He had drawn a bath and tested the water and provided fresh towels and he hoped that soon Bubbles would join him. She was in too much shock to explain much and he'd help her through that before they could start discussing where her sisters might be. She had to be taken care of and he loved her.

He closed his eyes before hearing a click from the bathroom and the nine-year-old floated over to him. She landed in front of him, her body wrapped up in a towel. She looked at him and Utonium let his legs stretch out to the side before he knelt facing her. "Are you all right, sweetheart?" he asked as he saw her worried expression.

"I…I think so," Bubbles replied and Utonium lifted her chin doing a full examination of the parts of her body not wrapped up in the towel. She was so much older than she had been. She had spent more years away from him than with him but she had come back to him. "I don't…I don't know…" she said sadly.

Utonium took the chance to kiss her forehead. "It'll be okay," he tried to promise her. "I'm here. I'll take care of you. I won't let anyone hurt you even if it costs me my life."

Bubbles nervously shifted and looked away from him, sadness in her eyes. The professor drew closer, turning so he could see the expression on her face. Her depression came from the loss of her sisters, he knew that much. Hopefully they would be able to find them together. "Professor," Bubbles squeaked as she looked at the ground and Utonium wished she would look directly at him with those gorgeous blue eyes. "Can you…can I…" she struggled.

Utonium placed a comforting hand on her back, noticing how much she had grown these past four years. "It's okay," he tried to comfort her. "You can say whatever you want to say, there's no judgment. You know that I love you, right? You're my little girl, one of them at least."

Bubbles bowed her head, "You might not want it," she said and Utonium paused. What could she possibly say that he wouldn't want? He had already had some struggles years ago with sleep walking and most of what he did was buy them toys. "It's…it's selfish…"

"Darling," Utonium whispered wanting to take Bubbles into his arms and embrace her closely. He didn't know why she had found a connection here instead of to Blossom and Buttercup but she had come back home, she had come back somewhere she knew was safe. "I love you. I'll help you with whatever you need so tell me, there's very little that I won't help you wi -"

"Professor," Bubbles said before turning to look at him. He nodded in response. "Can I call you Dad?" she asked and Utonium's eyes widened. He hadn't expected that to be what she was scared of doing. Sure, they had always called him Professor before and he had accepted that but he had secretly hoped that one day he would be called Dad or Daddy or even Father.

"Of course," he smiled to her. He felt relief when Bubbles flew into his arms but was alarmed at her crying. He stood up as he held her. She really was just a child, powers and all. He felt her grab to him and even though she was much older and heavier, he wouldn't let her go. She was home. She was finally home and maybe the others would be home soon as well. "Anything else that I can help with?" he asked her and Bubbles shook her head.

"I'm sleepy," she said as she let her head rest on the professor's shoulders. "Dad…" she said and felt the way that name seemed to link her to the professor, "I want to go to bed."

"I haven't changed the room, your old bedroom," Utonium told her, "each time I thought about it, I would get too upset. If you need to put some things away then I can grab you boxes. I just ask that you don't throw any of your sisters things away," he said and Bubbles nodded silently. Utonium kissed her forehead again.

"I'll find you some more clothes soon, we can go shopping tomorrow," he promised her before carrying her over to the bed. It seemed so much smaller as he tucked her in. He stepped away from her, still gazing at her affectionately. "Do you want me to leave the nightlight on for you?" he asked and Bubbles nodded before shivering. Utonium walked over to her and gently let his hand run over his head. "It will all be better in the morning," he tried to assure her before turning the nightlight on and the main light off and leaving. "I love you," he told her before closing the door.

"I love you too," Bubbles whispered before she fell asleep not realizing that the professor was watching her for a full ten minutes before going back to his own room.

…

…

_Utonium could see the girls under the glass with the chemical X removed from their bodies. He stood with his arms stretched against the glass protectively before feeling something tugging him but he didn't want to leave them. "It's going to be okay, girls," he tried to reassure them but he felt that it was already over. "I love you," he whispered._

"_We love you too," the girls said in unison and Utonium realized how sick they were. How they were being destroyed right in front of him. He couldn't protect him. He couldn't hear the words of the false Powerpuff Girls. He only saw his daughters struggling to even survive. _

_Soon he felt that the fakes were letting him go and then he saw the glass lift. He could reach them. He still had time to reach them. "Get out," the fakes warned him, "before it's too late." _

_Utonium rushed forwards, scooping the girls up all at one time as he ran away from the lab. He started to cry as he held them but he could already tell that he had lost them. He hadn't protected them. It had been his role as their father to ensure their safety. They were not safe. "I'll protect you, no one will hurt you. Please wake up," he said but the girls were limp in his arms. _

_Sobs ran through his body, weakening him. They weren't waking up. They didn't have the chemical X that they needed. He had lost them. He sobbed even harder. He hadn't been able to protect those most precious to him. He hadn't been able to save his family, his daughters._

"_Dad," he heard a faint voice say and he stared at the girls. Was he imagining it? He had heard them speak. "Da—ad?" the voice said again. _

…..

…

Utonium opened his eyes and saw Bubbles standing at the doorway, she was clutching her wrist nervously. Pushing himself into a seated position, Utonium looked directly over at the young girl and noticed the tears in her eyes. "Bubbles," he said as he got out of the bed and walked over to her, pressing her head into his body as he held her. "What is it, sweetheart?" he asked and Bubbles shivered.

"Can I sleep with you?" she asked and the professor paused before nodding. He lifted the covers for her before getting into the other side of the bed.

"Of course. Did you have a bad dream?" he asked his daughter and Bubbles nodded not wanting to talk about the painful screams she had heard from her sisters and how she hadn't known it was a dream until she had woken up in a cold sweat.

"The worst," she told him and felt the professor holding her close. "Thanks, Dad" she whispered and Utonium nodded. He would protect her. Right now she was his only daughter that he knew of. He wouldn't let her suffer ever again.

**End of Chapter Two**

**Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Bubbles sniffed as she curled up into a tighter and smaller ball in her sleep. She missed being with her sisters, knowing that she was one of three but the other two weren't there. She had tried to go to sleep, she had thought about how peaceful most of her nights had been and how she had had all of her stuffed animal plushies. She had then felt a disconnect and needed to be near the other surviving part of her family. She sobbed again as she whispered her sisters' names into the pillow.

"Blossom, Buttercup," she whispered as she clutched to the blanket. "Where are you guys?"

Bubbles felt herself drawn towards something warm and comforting and she looked up, she blinked as she saw the square jaw of the professor's face and smiled weakly, tears filling her eyes. She blinked up at him. "Dad?" she asked and he smiled to her. The last thing that Bubbles wanted to hear was that she was just an experiment, a program that had broken free from its matrix, some mutation of a number of strong elements.

"Did you want to talk about it?" he asked her and Bubbles sniffed. She pushed her head to the professor's leg and then took slow breaths out. She looked up at him before frowning and then slowly rose. Utonium opened his mouth to argue with her but instead he grabbed her, pulling her towards him and then wrapping his arms around her securely with her sitting on his lap. "I'll listen."

"I'm scared of going outside," Bubbles squeaked before sighing. "Maybe I could stay inside today, do some drawings?" she asked and Utonium smiled at her.

"Sounds like a good plan. We'll go at whatever pace you feel that you need to. I think we should set something up with a school or maybe homeschooling. How does homeschooling sound?" Utonium looked away. He would definitely feel better at keeping Bubbles in the house. He was beyond scared that someone would hurt her again or there would be a new villain targeting her. None of the girls had ever really been a solo fighter, their main asset was teamwork. You needed a team to really invest in teamwork.

Bubbles managed to float a little and she went to sit on a chair. She let her blonde hair fall over her face. "Dad, I'm sorry," she apologized to him and Utonium opened his mouth to argue with her but she cut him off. "I'm not really sure why I'm here. I remember blurred images. Colors. Crayons. Magic. Something. I don't really remember how I'm here but I can also promise you that I don't know where Blossom and Buttercup are or if they are even alive. No matter how you ask me, I don't know the answer to that. I can't help you find them other than to follow your lead."

"Bubbles," Utonium sighed before sitting on the bed facing her. "I understand. You are the only person who I'm sure, wants to find them more than I do. I know how much it must hurt and we'll do what we can to find them but I also know that right now, you need to have a lot of attention too. You're right that just because you were found it doesn't guarantee that we'll find your sisters but I want to try. Don't you want to tr—"

"Of course I want to try," Bubbles replied without hesitation. "They are like my arms, my body doesn't function very well without them but I don't want you to be disappointed with only me. I'm only one of the three girls who you -"

"You're still one of my daughters," Utonium told him and Bubbles nodded as if to tell him that was exactly what she was saying. "No. I mean, you're still my daughter. Yes, I definitely would be happier if our whole family was back together but that doesn't change the fact that you _are_ my daughter. The top priority for today is making sure that you have everything that you need. If you don't feel like going out today, we'll stay at home. I don't want you to fight crime right now anyway."

Bubbles nodded. She bowed her head again. She felt selfish about the fact that she really didn't want to go out to defend the city of Townsville. She had once dressed up as Harmony Bunny who was dedicated to filling the world with happiness and sunshine and using stickers to brighten anyone's day. Now the only brightness she cared about was hers and the professor's. "Dad?" she tried again and Utonium nodded. "Thank you."

"Sweetheart," Utonium softened his expression as he watched her. "You don't need to thank me, I am your father and it's my privilege to take care of you. Is there anything that you want to do today?" he asked and Bubbles rubbed her upper arm nervously. "Let's hear it. Anything at all," he told her and Bubbles took a deep breath in.

"Can we cook together?" she asked and Utonium nodded slowly, "It doesn't have to be a lot, even sandwiches would be good but I'd like to make something we can enjoy together."

"A very good idea," Utonium smiled as he looked at the eight-year-old. "How does spaghetti and meatballs sound? We can work on doing that together. It would be fun to make a meal together," he told her trying to sound as energized as possible. He still would stare at her though thinking about how she was only one-third of the unit. No. There was a probability that Blossom and Buttercup wouldn't return and if that happened it would only be Bubbles and he should be thrilled to have any of his girls.

"Dad?" Bubbles asked as she watched him. The professor nodded as he had his hands on his knees ready to listen to her. "Thank you."

PPGPPG

Bubbles stood in the clothing store with Utonium, even though she was wearing a hooded jacket to hide her identity, she could hear people whispering about her behind her back. She smiled weakly before bowing her head. She let her hair fall on her shoulders, putting it up seemed to prove a happiness which she definitely didn't feel anymore.

"How about this?" Utonium asked as he pointed to a warm pink coat that was a popular item for young girls. "This one's pretty cute," he said as he picked up a white fluffy jacket that had a bunny design on it. He saw Bubbles' weak smile. "Sorry, I guess I'm not good at picking things out."

"It's okay," Bubbles whispered before pointing to a pink and white striped turtleneck. "How about this one?" she asked before pausing. Pink was Blossom's color. She shook her head and picked up a couple of blue shirts she also grabbed a couple of skirts and a pair of pants. She smiled as she looked around. There were a lot of cute things in here actually. She pointed to a couple of white dresses and blue dresses. "Is there a limit?" she asked and Utonium shook his head giving her a supportive smile. If she wanted it then he would get it for her.

As he stood with the basket he was holding getting filled with clothes, he felt someone behind him and paused as there was a citizen there. He smiled weakly. "Hello," he said slowly, his eyes focusing on them. The man looked to him before pointing to Bubbles.

"Is that one of your _girls?_" the man asked and Utonium frowned at the way he had said that word. He hated people treating his daughters like objects and Bubbles wasn't as strong as she had once been despite being a lot older. He wanted to know where she had been as much as anyone would but he would let her tell him in her own time.

"Yes," Utonium replied slowly. He watched as Bubbles finished and came back to him. She saw the man standing there and tensed up. Seeing her unease, Utonium placed a hand on her shoulder and then stood, taking her hand in his own. "Excuse me, we still have to do some more shopping."

"That…thing doesn't need to be shopping. It needs to be fighting crime and saving the day. You don't know how many people are getting hurts because your girls aren't doing there job." The man turned towards Bubbles, unaware of how furious the professor was. "You're a disgrace. Not caring about other people. Trying to act human even though you're not. You caused too many people to get hurt, too much bloodshed because you cou-"

"Excuse me," Utonium said to the man as he started rolling up his sleeves. "You do not have any right to speak to my daughter like that. My daughter can live the life of a proper girl despite her background. She doesn't need to be fighting people especially since she only returned here last night. Finally and most importantly, she is _not_ a thing, she is _not_ an it. She is a girl, _my_ girl, and I think you should beat it before you experience the force of an angry and protective father."

The man looked between them and then walked off. Bubbles watched him go and grabbed hold of the professor's leg, starting to cry into the fabric. "I'm sorry," she apologized and the professor bent down to place a hand on her back. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause everyone so much pain. I wish I could help everyone. I can't do it, Professor," she said and Utonium pulled her into his arms. "I don't know if I can do it without Blossom and Buttercup."

"I know and it's okay," he tried to reassure her. "You don't have to do anything that you're not ready for. There are others who have been helping with the situation." He wiped the tears away from Bubble's bright blue eyes and tried to give her a loving smile. "Besides, I thought you were going to call me Dad."

"I'm not a disappointment to you?" she asked and the professor smiled. He put his hand on her head and brought her closer to him.

"Never," he promised her and Bubbles closed her eyes.

"Thank you…Dad" she replied just wanting to know where her sisters were. She wasn't strong enough on her own and although the professor understood that, the rest of Townsville might consider her as selfish as that man just had.

**End of Chapter Three**

**Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Two

MadnessJones, popipowo

**AN: **This is the real Bubbles, however the story of her escape and revival is a lot darker than you might think and will be explored in future chapters.


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